Research procedures and genealogical sources are different for each religion. It is helpful to understand the historical events that led to the creation of records, such as parish registers, in which your family was listed.

Research procedures and genealogical sources are different for each religion. It is helpful to understand the historical events that led to the creation of records, such as parish registers, in which your family was listed.

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*Denial of church authority to charge for baptisms, marriages, burials, and other sacraments.<span id="fck_dom_range_temp_1243881316492_154" />

*Denial of church authority to charge for baptisms, marriages, burials, and other sacraments.<span id="fck_dom_range_temp_1243881316492_154" />

Revision as of 14:55, 4 November 2011

Research procedures and genealogical sources are different for each religion. It is helpful to understand the historical events that led to the creation of records, such as parish registers, in which your family was listed.

Roman Catholic

In 1527 the Roman Catholic Church was established in Mexico when the dioceses of Tlaxcala and Mexico were created. The Archdiocese of México was created first as a diocese in 1530 and upgraded to an archdiocese in 1546. During the viceroyalty period in Mexico (1527 to 1810), there were also nine other dioceses in the country.

Chronological Table of the History of the Catholic Church in Mexico

Year

Ecclesiastical and Political Events - Affecting the Church

1518

First Catholic Mass on Mexican soil on the expedition of Juan de Grijalva. Diocese of Carolense created.

1522

First Inquisition tried in Mexico.

1524

First 12 Franciscans arrive in Mexico.

1526

First Dominicans arrive in Mexico. Diocese of Mexico created.

1533

First Augustines arrive.

1535

Diocese of Oaxaca created.

1536

Diocese of Michoacan created.

1539

Diocese of Chiapas, also known as San Cristobal de las Casas, created.

1546

Ecclesiastical Province of Mexico (archdiocese) created.

1548

Diocese of Guadalajara created.

1561

Diocese of Yucatan created.

1572

First Jesuits arrive in Mexico.

1592

Missions of Northern Mexico begin.

1620

Diocese of Guadiana, or Durango, created.

1642

Problems arise between Bishop Palafox and the Jesuits.

1767

Jesuits expelled from Mexico.

1777

Diocese of Linares, later named Monterrey, created.

1779

Diocese of Sonora created.

1792

Royal and Pontifical University of Guadalajara established.

1814

Jesuits restituted.

1821

Consummation of Independence.

1824

Constitution adopted.

1845

Diocese of Campeche created.

1854

Diocese of San Luis Potosí created.

1855

Apostolic Vicarate of Baja California created.

1857

Constitution of 1857 and Reform Laws adopted.

1856–1861

Church and its seminaries confiscated by government.

1861

Vicariate of Tamaulipas created.

1862

Dioceses of Queretaro and Chilapa created.

1863

Archdioceses of Guadalajara and Michoacan (now known as Morelia) created.

1863

Dioceses of Veracruz, also known as Jalapa, Zamora, Leon, Zacatecas, Queretaro, and Tulancingo, created.

1867–1868

More seminaries confiscated or closed.

1870

Diocese of Tampico and Tamaulipas (known as Ciudad Victoria) created.

1874

Diocese of Lower California (now known as La Paz) created.

1880

Diocese of Tabasco created.

1881

Diocese of Colima created.

1881, 1887

Seminary of Tampico closed.

1883

Diocese of Sinaloa (name changed to Culiacan in 1959) created.

1887

Puebla seminary buildings confiscated.

1891

Archdioceses of Oaxaca, Durango, and Linares (now known as Monterrey) created.

Archdiocese of Hermosillo, and dioceses of Ciudad Obregón and Tlaxcala created. Diocese of San Andres Tuxtla was divided, creating the diocese of Tehuantepec. Diocese of Sinaloa becomes known as Culiacan.

Dioceses of Atlacomulco and Coatzacoalcos created. Diocese of San Andres Tuxtla divided into two jurisdictions: San Andres Tuxtla and the new diocese Coatzacoalcos, becomes a suffragan diocese of Jalapa.

1985

Diocese of Ciudad Lazaro Cardenas created.

1988

Diocese of La Paz created. Archdiocese of San Luis Potosí created.

1989

Archdiocese of Tlalnepantla created.

1990

Diocese of Nuevo Laredo created.

1992

Dioceses of Tlapa and Parral created.

Laws Affecting Church History in Mexico

During the viceroyalty period and until the constitution of 1824 the king, under the Regio Patronato, obtained concessions to:

Send missionaries to evangelize the Indians.

Construct churches, monasteries, and hospitals.

Present three names of persons to the Holy Office of Rome to name the church officials of Mexico.

Collect tithes.

With time the king also gained the right to abrogate the decrees of the Ecclesiastical Courts and to modify, by civil power, and transmit or not transmit the papal and church documents to his realms.

The 1824 constitution allowed freedom of choice and liberty of thought. However it was not until the Reform Laws that the government began to enforce these rights.

The Reform Laws contained sections dealing with the establishment of civil registration, the nationalization of church property, separation of church and state, suppression of religious orders, prohibition to establish convents, brotherhoods, and so on. Pensions were provided for religious clergy who accepted the laws. Among other things, the laws established:

Marriage as a civil contract.

Tolerance of belief.

Secularization of cemeteries.

Denial of church authority to charge for baptisms, marriages, burials, and other sacraments.